Redcap: AIR, #2

By Amanda Booloodian

The werewolf may be my best friend, but if Rider calls me thick again, he's going to be eating my hand warmers.

 

Working for the clandestine Agency of Interdimensional Regulation is amazing, until you're stuck behind a desk. My first day back in the field finds me face to face with gremlins and those little creatures love their metal. I should have thought of that because losing your clothes at work is hard to live down.

Back at the office, news surfaces of goblins on the march. Aggressive, territorial, and downright mean, the goblins appear to be out for blood. Investigation leads us to the middle of nowhere in the dead of winter to see if the pixies are tormenting the surrounding population. When we find the pixies missing and their glen dying, our situation becomes more dire.

 

My powers and Rider's keen werewolf nose sense a creature that doesn't belong but our progress slows to a crawl when the wicked winter weather makes an appearance. Can we find the pixies, stop the goblin rebellion, and identify this new threat before I freeze to death?

 

If you love Urban Fantasy or Supernatural Suspense, the AIR series will keep you turning the pages!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amanda Booloodian
• Release date: Jun 18, 2018
• ISBN: 9781947382909

Book preview

Chapter

One

Gremlins. My first day back in the field and I had my first gremlin call. Agents had wrestled with the gremlins a few times while I was stuck on desk duty.

You sure you're up for this, Cassie? Logan asked. It's quite a hike.

My leg is fine, I insisted. Good as new.

Let's saddle up then, Logan said. These varmints can be a nuisance. Best to get them sorted before they reach the junk yard.

Varmints? Rider's face crinkled, while he slung the gear bag across his back. I do not know that word.

For a minute, Logan looked stumped. Um, small creatures.

I heard the hint of a question in Logan's words. Troublesome or mischievous child or other small creature. Logan raised an eyebrow at me and I shrugged. When I was little, Gran used to call me and the neighbor girl varmints when we played together. I didn't want to encourage the continued cowboy lingo, but I had looked that one up and the definition stayed with me.

Right. Logan beamed as only an elf could. Let's round them up.

We plunged into the woods with Logan leading the way. Once we were hidden from the gravel road, Logan's ears twitched. They slowly unfurled until they stuck out behind his head, ending in points. The skin and flesh thinned at the farthest reaches, and you could practically see the bright early morning sun shining through.

Do your ears get cold in this weather? I asked. The thought of that much exposed skin in the freezing temperatures of a Midwest winter made me nestle down deeper into my coat.

Logan chuckled. Not in the way yours would.

Did you have winters like this where you're from? I asked.

Not quite like this, Logan said. The weather can't seem to make up its mind here. At home, it got cold and stayed cold until it was time to get warm again.

How about you, Rider? I asked.

I am from here, Rider said.

I mean where you grew up, I corrected.

It was cold north of where we lived, Rider said, in the mountains. My father took us twice when we were young.

We? I asked, interested in hearing more about my new friend's family.

Rider looked uncomfortable. He always did when he talked about his family. A look of sadness also peeked through, which I hated to see.

I didn't think about the weather, I said, changing the subject quickly. Does it get cold in the gremlin world? They're not going to get sick or anything, are they?

Rider didn't look at me, but I saw relief in his expression.

Not too sure. We don't have a reliable portal going there, Logan said. Although, with this one popping open all the time, we'll probably get enough readings to create a stable one before long.

The dimensional portal opening repeatedly was a consistent reminder of the mess we had faced last fall. Having someone trying to kill you wasn't a pleasant memory to get thrown in your face over and over again. Being reminded of a missing partner was even worse.

Where was Vincent?

When I fell silent, turning inward, Logan filled the void with humming. Before long, he was whistling an old western tune. I didn't need to know the words or the name to know what type of song it was.

When elves take an interest in something for more than a few hours it tends to stick, driving everyone around them slowly insane. Logan had been stuck on westerns for almost a year now.

However, since it came from an elf, the song could be one that tavern drunks sang, yet it would still be enchanting. Logan could make it sound like two people whistled in harmony, and it all came from him.

Whether he had meant it to or not, it lifted my spirits.

What's our plan of attack? I asked after his performance ended.

Are we going to attack the gremlins? Rider asked, sounding distressed.

It's a figure of speech, I said. What I meant was, what are we going to do?

Hank thinks there are about five of them, based on heat readings, Logan said. But there could be more. We'll tranq them if we have to, but we can probably get away with only cuffing them.

With zip strips, I said. Not actual cuffs. In training, I had learned a little about gremlins. Someone in class featured them as a discussion piece for debate, which had been quite interesting.

Right, Logan said. Cuffing them with metal would be as good as wrangling them with smoke rings. They're only about a half-mile away or so. We can drop the metal just shy of their location and lure them out. How's your leg?

I rolled my eyes. It's fine. How are you all? I can't believe you aren't cold out here.

Logan chuckled. Rider only shrugged.

It baffled me that I was wrapped up in a coat, hat, gloves, and boots while they both wore light jackets. As a werewolf, Rider was extremely warm blooded, so his wasn't even zipped. Just looking at them made me shiver.

Logan held up a hand and slowed. Rider and I halted, watching Logan move silently through the underbrush and into a small clearing. He took out a plastic bag full of filings and dumped some of the metal onto the ground. He backed off to the side and we waited.

A screech filled the air, echoed by other scratchy voices. Loud rustling seemed to come from everywhere at once as the gremlins moved through the woods.

One gremlin broke through the tree line and went straight to the little pile of filings. It propelled itself forward by running and then pushing its fists against the ground to launch itself farther than a step would take it. The little green creature screeched again and plunged its hand into the metal as two more gremlins appeared.

The two bounded on and over each other in a scramble. I had to put my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing. For such ugly little people, they were cute to watch. They squabbled a bit, but plenty of metal had been laid out for them. They began the fruitless endeavor of trying to shape the shavings.

We watched and waited.

I shifted and looked at the woods around us. Had the others been hurt?

When the screech came from beside me, I felt a little relief. Looking over, I saw that one of the gremlins had climbed the tree next to me. I spotted it as it launched itself toward me.

What the— On instinct, I threw up my arm to ward off the little creature. When it hit, though, I realized how big they actually were. This one felt like thirty pounds of solid muscle smashed into a figure two feet tall. It knocked me to the ground, raking sharp claws over my coat.

An embarrassing half-scream, half-shriek burst out of me right before my back hit the ground. In my panic, I reached for my power. My mind scrambled desperately for the furthest reaches—where the end of my knowledge of this world ended, a black chasm awaited. My power as a Reader waited on the other side of that darkness. Once I reached the edge, I stretched… but reached nothing.

I couldn't make the jump to the Path.

The weight of gremlin lifted before I caught my breath. Rider held the little green person up to his face, and the two inspected each other with what seemed like great interest.

I rose up on my elbows and looked over my ripped coat. When the next two gremlins pounced, I managed to push one off and Rider picked up the other.

Get off! I yelled at the gremlin, and then pushed the little creature further away, trying to scramble to my feet.

They're after the zipper, Logan called. He had one gremlin zipped, and he then dumped even more metal out onto the ground.

Rider had two gremlins in hand, Logan had taken care of one, and I struggled to push away a fourth.

So where were...

Two more gremlins screeched. One jumped on my back and started trying to tear through the coat. The gremlin fell off when I finally got upright. I unzipped my coat and tossed it away. Two of the Lost chased it.

I leaned over, breathing heavily and trying to calm the frantic pace of my heart. Stupid zipper. Stupid gremlins and their stupid love of metal.

Logan moved quickly to my coat and started to cuff another gremlin.

Why didn't they go after your coat? I snapped crossly at the elf.

Can't imagine, Logan said, wrestling one of them to the ground.

They—ep! Another gremlin scrambled up my leg and clutched at my shirt. Its friend gave up on my coat and joined it. Get off!

Are you wearing jewelry? Logan asked, running over.

No!

Any other metal?

No! I— Oh crap. I scrambled even more desperately to shove them away.

Are gremlins predators? Rider asked.

The calmness of his voice ticked me off. It's not my soul. It's—Dammit!

Logan managed to pull one off. I knocked the other away and turned around, yanking away my shirt in the process.

I don't think— Logan started.

I took off my bra and flung it away. The lone gremlin remaining on the ground scampered after it.

My face held the only warmth I felt, and the cold even tried to suck that away. I wrapped my arms tightly around myself to keep from being exposed and to keep in what little heat my arms could hold in.

You are bleeding, Rider said, a hint of worry in his voice.

Of course I'm bleeding, I snapped. I've been mauled. Without letting go of myself, I tried to look all over for signs of blood, but I only found a few mild scratches. I shivered and looked around for my coat. Two very sedate gremlins sat next to the torn shreds.

How bad? Logan asked, sounding far too serious